Mark Gatiss takes a break from playing Mycroft in Sherlock to be a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos in this episode. He looks so different with a beard! Hope he doesn’t just appear in one episode, because that will be a complete waste of his talent.

Why does Stannis look at Ser Davos so quizzically when they ask them to sit?

Wait, if they don’t grow any crops or livestock at Dragonstone, how have they been feeding themselves?

Love how blunt and unlearned Ser Davos can politick with the best of them.

Such a cute line by Sallador Saan! “You’re not my friend, my friend.”

Why didn’t Yara attack Ramsay Snow before he opened the cage door to let the dogs out? And how did they outrun the dogs anyway (or even get out of that crowded room)? And Theon’s slave conditioning is so utterly complete; however is he going to break out of it? (I’ve never been the hugest fan of Alfie Allen, who plays Theon, but he is amazing in this scene. He really *gets* it — the slave mentality of being so tortured into submission he panics when referred to as his original self.)

If Daenerys is going to have long conversations with all her supplicants, she’ll never finish seeing them all. (Just one more step towards her realisation that ruling is not easy after all.) But we also learn that while she delights in playing the role of the benevolent queen, she is not as ready to accept that her judgements are less than just. And neither are the viewers, who have only seen things from her point of view. We heard Barristan Selmy’s caution to be merciful, but we haven’t seen the reason for it — until now. But acknowledging that she’s not as good a ruler as we thought she is stirs uncomfortable feelings — not just in her, but also us — so let’s forget that and pretend all is fine and dandy.

Poor Tyrion, forced to attend this farce of a trial and to hear his actions slandered by men much worse than him. Are the people of the court (that are not the main characters, who obviously know the truth) really that stupid? So swayed by hearsay and what the wishes of the ones in power that they can’t discern truth from lies? Did they really forget, or not know that Tyrion saved them in the Battle of Blackwater?

The kangaroo court in “The Laws of Gods and Men”

OMG. TYWIN LANNISTER WAS MANIPULATING JAIME THE WHOLE TIME to get him to leave his post and go back to Casterly Rock! He says “Done” so quickly after Jaime makes him his deal that it’s laughable, coupled with Jaime’s look of shock, and I love how Tywin pointedly adds “and you will father children named Lannister”.

SHAE HOW COULD YOU???!!! LOOK AT TYRION’S HEART BREAKING!

Peter Dinklage’s last outburst OWNS this episode. Possibly this season. The murderous rage in his eyes as he gives vent to an entire life’s worth of grievances in front of an ungrateful city and hardhearted father and sister, spitting out the truest truth ever said in public (“Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief than a thousand lying whores”), and overturning all of Tywin Lannister’s carefully arranged plans as he takes back some control of his life. And of all the injustices that he has suffered, it took the love of his life betraying and humiliating him in public to tip him over the edge. Tywin Lannister will regret ever playing that hand. Once again, perfect end to the episode with “The Rains of Castamere”, except now it’s the younger lion challenging the older lion. Whose hall will the rains weep over with no one left to hear? We’ll see.